Nancy Dumay “Kultural”

The only thing I want to say is “Her dress was supposed to be on the cover of my Magazine.” Nancy is a designer. Not just any designer, who takes the time to make something and hopes that you would buy it. Each one of her dresses is a work of art. No really, she thinks about every design and the person who’s going to wear it. Then she looks at you and sizes you up as they say. If she doesn’t have any garment that will fit you, come back in a month and be fitted to the right size and design.

I needed to clothes two models for the magazine. Women’s designer clothing? Hmmm! They had to wear something original. As I went through my Facebook it seemed to me most of the ladies I know were wearing the same clothes. I looked a little more I saw the girls who were my queens, this girl who was a nurse on my floor and ahh! I was perplexed, Marie Reine who I grew up with? No I have to get my girls to wear these dresses.

I called Marie Reine at work and said: I saw you wearing a dress from “Kultural” Roots I need to borrow a couple for my models can you make it happen? She said ok she’ll call her. Mean while, I was on my way to Florida for a photo, shoot where I was going to use a different designer. While I was waiting for my plane I thought I would give my friend a call about the dresses. By the way I already emailed the lady saying I’d like to feature her clothes in my magazine. We know the same people and would she like to dress some of my girls? No answer for eight hours. Anyway Marie Reine forgot about my request, she said she’s going to call her now. When she responded she wanted the last issue of the magazine which I didn’t have.

The lady doesn’t know me from anywhere she could have said no. I don’t know what Marie Reine told her. By the time I got on the plane I had a designer. Everything was set for the shoot then I realized Nancy was dressing a number of ladies but no girls. She might have nothing to fit my teenagers. When I spoke to her I said just that. She assured me she had a couple of dresses that might fit. My models are very skinny. I took an Uber to her house and she has a room full of clothes that are waiting for their owners. Ahh! The colors that leaped at me. I saw jewelry to match the clothes, bracelets, earrings and necklaces. I bought a few the others, I’d have to meticulously choose.

So I got two dresses that would probably fit my girls. One had a scene with a girl dancing amidst men playing the bongos, guitar and the maracas. The other featured a profusely long sleeve adorned with a scenery of trees in a vibrant community. The material is buttery soft and it has pocket on each side. The white one is white linen that matches the lining perfectly. I got one for myself because I would not get this chance to be sized up by the lady herself. She showed me some magazines written about her. She said it was hard to part with the dresses because every where she takes them she made a sale. If they are not with her she can’t sell them. She has been all over the country, She’s been to Africa, Europe and they can’t get enough of her in the islands. Ahh! The prints, the cuts, the length these clothes are made to measure. Some are painted in Haiti and brought back to the States for her to finesse the style. The jewelry same fashion, she puts them together in a heartbeat. She didn’t need me to write bout her. Been there done that, Nancy’s pieces are second to none. You need clothes? You get a one of a kind work of art.

Nadia Pressage
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